Inter Miami CF captain Leo Messi and midfielder Rodrigo De Paul continue their FIFA World Cup 2026 with Argentina (1W-0L-1D, 3 points) on Monday, June 22, when La Albiceleste takes on Austria (1W-0L-1D, 3 points) at Dallas Stadium. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Where to Watch
Fans can watch the action live in English on FOX, and in Spanish on Telemundo, Peacock.
Group Stage Action
Argentina continues its World Cup title defense facing Austria in its second Group J fixture after securing a 3-0 victory over Algeria in the team's tournament opener with both Messi and De Paul as protagonists. Messi led the show with a hat-trick, his first at a FIFA World Cup, while De Paul contributed an assist in the play leading to the first goal.
Notably, the evening saw Messi make history by becoming the first male player to appear at six different editions of the FIFA World Cup. The attacking maestro also reached 16 career World Cup goals, tying Miroslav Klose for the most goals in the history of the tournament, and 200 total overall appearances for Argentina as he extends his record as the nation's player with the most caps.
The match against Austria presents the third meeting between the nations in their history and the first-ever in an official competition. Both previous encounters came in friendlies, with a 5-1 victory for Argentina in 1980 and a 1-1 draw in 1990 in matches that took place in Vienna, Austria.
Austria, meanwhile, enters the match after defeating Jordan 3-1 in their Group J opener. Romano Schmid opened the scoring, before an own goal and a strike by veteran striker Marko Arnautović rounded out the victory for the Europeans.
With a win against Austria, Argentina would seal a spot in the Round of 32.
Messi and De Paul with Argentina
In his historic international career, Messi has guided Argentina to the 2021 and 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América titles and 2022 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions crown, and further cemented his legacy by leading his country to a historic FIFA World Cup title in 2022.
Messi also notably holds the records for most caps (200) and most goals (120) for Argentina, while also holding the international record for most World Cup match appearances (27) and being the only player to score in the World Cup group stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
De Paul, meanwhile, is featuring in a World Cup for a second time after his key role en route to lifting the cup in 2022. El Motorcito was also one of the main figures alongside Messi in La Albiceleste's 2021 and 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América and 2022 CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions conquests. In all, the versatile midfielder has earned 88 caps, scoring two times, in his fruitful international career for Argentina.
